On Wednesday 30 June, the ambassadors of the Member States to the EU agreed to the launch of the EU training mission in Mozambique.
Finland, which had to conclude an internal procedure, withdrew its reservation. Hungary, despite a gender-related statement, did not block the decision.
The launch of the mission should be formally adopted at the Foreign Affairs Council on 12 July.
The Force Commander of this mission will be Portuguese Brigadier General Nuno Lemos Pires (see EUROPE 12747/25). Portugal, which is a keen supporter of the mission, is prepared to contribute half the manpower (see EUROPE 12729/18).
On 28 June, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, explained that “at the request of the Mozambican government, the EU is finalising the planning for an EU CSDP military mission aimed at providing human-rights compliant training and capacity building to selected units of the Mozambican armed forces. The EU is further engaged with humanitarian, development and stabilisation assistance adding up to nearly €60 million for projects to build confidence between security forces and local communities”, he added in a speech at the meeting of the global anti-Da’esh coalition. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)